FRIDAY,. DECEMBER 23, 1960
MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE, MEDFORD. OREGON
4
MEDFORDv!l-TRlBUNE
"Everyone in Southern Oregon
Read i The Mail Tribune
Published Daily except Saturday by
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RORPRT W RUHL. Editor
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ERIC W ALLEN JR.. MnR Editoi
EARL H ADAMS. City Editor
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mrHinn ip.wf.TT Soort Editor
OLIVE ST ARCHER. Women's Kd tor
DALE EHiCKSUHuircuiauon ms;
An YnHnnndenf Newsnaoer
Entered as oecond class matter at
Medford. Oregon unaer aci oi
March 3, 1897
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Flight o' Time
Medford end Jackson County
History from the files of The
Mall Tribune 10. 20. 30 40
and 50 years ago.
10 YEARS AGO
Dec. 23. 1950 (Saturday)
Both the Jackson County
Chamber of Commerce and
tl.p Moclford Auto Dealers
association have gone on rec
ord favoring reactivation of
Camp White as an armed
forces training establishment.
A total of 8,994 Jackson
county people have signed the
Freedom Scrolls during the
Crusade for Freedom con
ducted here recently.
20 YEARS AGO
Dec. 23, 1940 (Monday)
The city of Medford must
acquire all the necessary land
itself before use can ba made
of $282,000 allocated by the
civil aeronautics administra
tion for development of the
municipal airport, It was an
nounced by the CAA today.
From Arthur Perry's "Ye
' Smurine Pot" column: "MER.
11 Y CHRISTMAS and HAPPY
NEW YEARS, to everybody,
everywhere, but Messrs. Mil
ler, Stalin, and Mussolini."
30 YEARS AGO
Dec. 23, 1930 (Tuesday)
Citizens of this area have
beon urged by postal authori
ties to keep their porchlighls
burning tonight if there is fog
to aid postmen in last-minute
deliveries.
40 YEARS AGO
Dec. 23, 1920 (Thursday)
Senator Chamberlain of
Oregon underwent an emer
gency operation in a Washing
ton, D.C., hospital this week.
Christmas mail this year is
the greatest in the history of
Medford.
50 YEARS AGO '
Dec. 23. 1910 (Friday)
Mail at the local post office
is breaking all records; total
receipts during this December
should end up at well over
$5,000; last year during De
cember receipts totaled $2,
400. What's Your I.Q.7
Nino or ten correct is superior:
soven oi eight Is excellent; five or
lis is good.
1. What do the letters
"D.D.S." after a person's
name stand for?
2. Complete the biblical
quotation, "I will lift up mine
' eyes unto the hills."
3. Which cities in Minne
sota are known as "Twin Cit
ies"? P
4. Was the Gcigcr counter
the discovery of a young
Frenchman, Belgian, or Ger
man? 5. Will an airtight drum
support more weight in water
if pumped full of air under
pressure, or if exhausted of
air?
li. Of which political soci
ety in a large American city
is the tiger an emblem?
7. Where in the Crimea did
the famous "charge of the
' Light Brigade" take plucc?
8. During World War II
which large French steamship
capsized at Its pier In New
York harbor?
9. Which of the Virgin Is
lands of the United States is
the largest in area?
10. Did Mexico have com
pulsory military service dur
ing World War II?
Answers: 1. Doctor of Den
ial Science (Surgery). 2.
". , . from whence comelh my
help." 3. Minneapolis and St.
Paul. 4. German. 5. Exhaust
ed of air. 6. Tammany Society
of New York Cily. 7. Bala.
1 clava. 8. The Normandie. 9.
. St. Croix. 10. Yes. ; ,
Highway
The state legislature
commission.
When the 90 members of that body start
attempting to draft highway plans, they are sub
ject to multiple pressures (the same ones' the
highway commission is subject to), but is in a
far poorer position to withstand them than the
commission.
Highways then become objects of pork bar
relling and log rolling,
erate the greatest pressures are the ones which
get the biggest highway appropriations whether
merited or not.
TWO sessions ago,
1 opened this dangerous
session, in 1959, opened
ing the highway commission to do thus ana so,
in addition to, or instead
up on a carefully considered list of priorities
The chickens released by this invasion of ex
ecutive functions by the
now coming home to roost.
- The Orecron coast
by the legislature, and
ceiving tar more than its
highway iunds.
DUT are they happy?
- The editor of the
usually is on firm ground
a blast at the highway commission and the high
way department for what he thought was dis-
criminating against the
arrogant attitude, etc.,
Now the highway commission and department
are not perfect. But we
enough to know that their people do their level
best to be fair and impartial, and to allocate
funds where they are the most needed.
TPHE Kegister-Guard, in commenting on the
World's blast, makes a few points that should
be kept in mind. In part, it said :
"Now the good Lord knows that highway develop
ments never seem to come fast enough, anywhere, in
this age of motorized masses. But the World's sugges
tion that Oregon needs a bigger highway commission
needs to be quashed before it results in calamitous
damage to future highway developments,. . .
"Implicit In its criticisms now is the suggestion that
further pressures, brought through the 1961 legisla
ture, are what is needed to see that southwestern Ore
gon gets. Its just highway deserts.
". . . The legislature, sadly, has proved that It Is
malleable under heavy local pressures. Neither the
Highway 42 nor the 101 projects would be as far along
as they are if the legislature hadn't been Induced to
stick its finger in the highway coommlssion's planning
. pic. . ,
"However, it should be clear to residents of south
western Oregon and all other parts of the state that
direction of highway planning, according to relative
pressures placed on the state legislature, can lead only
to chaos. If rivalry develops to see 'which community
, can put the most heat on the legislature to get the
most in the way of road funds, there can be no other
result. ...
"... The Coos Bay paper decries the fact that the
now Pacific Freeway is being pushed to rapid comple-
' ; tlon. But It Ignores the fact that funds for Interstate
. freeways do not come from the same source nor are
they Interchangeable with those for either .primary or
secondary stale highways. It overlooks the fact that
in relation to usage and populations served, more
state funds have been directed to the Highway 101 and
Highway 42 Jobs than to any comparable projects
elsewhere In Oregon.
"The way to sound improvement of Oregon's high
ways lies not in stirring a number of sectional inter
ests, but In maintaining without further legislative
Interference, independent and impartial administration
of the state highway system."
WF, WILL concede to the World that the ac
linnc nf ilia Vnrrliurav enmmissinn nnrl rlp-
partment sometimes seem arbitrary and high
handed, and that in the past the department's
concept of public relations and information was
abysmal.
But this is changing.
And there is also the
internationally, Oregon
ministration which builds
with respect and admiration.
We'd like to keep it that way. E. A.
Merry Christmas, PT-N
Well doggone !
Here we thought we had Pacific Telephone
Northwest all straightened out about Medford,
They recently ran an
tolled the glories ot Oregon, and mentioned about
all the major cities in the
iouith-largest Mediord.
We took them gently
located by making an apology, an abject one,
and declaring that Medford is one of their fa
vorite cities.
CO NOW what happens? We get our monthly
bill (including, incidentally, a charge for a
long distance call we didn t make, but that s be
side the point). The bill has an enclosure i
copy of the same ad. Is Medford mentioned? As
Oregon's fourth-largest city? Or as the capital
of the "State of Jefferson"? Or even as one of
PT-N's favorite cities?
No sir, it isn't.
Oh, well.
Merry Christmas, anyway, PT-N. E.A.
Problems
makes a lousy highway
and the areas which gen
in 1957, the legislature
door a crack, and last
it a bit wider, by direct
oi, projects long drawn
legislative authority are
was particularly favored
has been, as a result, re
really tair share oi state
They are not.
Coos Bay World, who
in his editorials, let out
coast, poor planning, an
etc., etc.
have watched them long
fact that, nationally and
s highways and the ad
them are looked upon
advertisement which ex
state except the state's
to task, and they recip
Dennis the
' BB REASONABLE, H4RTHA !
rVOUlONT SPEND 12.98 ON
Communications
Letters to the Editor mutt bear the name and address of the
writer, although under certain circumstances the use of a pen
name or initial for publication is permissible. The Mail
Tribune reserves the right to edit all letters with a view
to clarification and condensation. Letters submitted for pub
lication must not exceed 400 words. The letters printed -in
this column do not necessarily
paper; in fact the contrary is
Life in Placerville
To the Editor: I wuz asked,
"Where did we put the tele
phone in Placerville?"
We put it at the end of the
wire. We lived upstairs over
the store and the chimney
went through the middle of
the kitchen, like a chimney
should. The first thing we
hit when we got up in the
middle of the night wuz the
chimney, so that's where we
put the telephone.
We didn t have an exten
sion on the telephone. We wuz
lucky to gel enough wire to
reach from the telephone pole
to the chimney. We didn't
have a telephone in every
room, but ve hud v u n
in efery County. They had
one In Norwood and one in
Naturlta. Central was in Tcl
lurlde, but she didn't have a
telephone. The one in Denver
did, but we couldn't get Den
ver. The wire wuz 200 miles
short.
The telephone maintenance
crews didn't have snow-cats.
They used Swevendorfer
biscuits und old Peanuts.
Swevendorfer vas der lazy
burro vot used to stand on der
railroad track und flag der
passenger trains. Old Peanu.s
never stopped anyting, und
he never started anyting. He
used to be der caboose on der
pack train. He vas packing
gold at $17.30 an ounce. Swe
vendorfer und old Peanuts
vas old burros ven ve left
Colorado, but dey was still
going strong.
Everett Acklin
Ashland, Ore.
Christmas Pets
To the Editor; The board
of directors and members of
the Southern Oregon Humane
Society wish to take this op
portunity on behalf of our
animal friends to extend sea
sons greetings to all.
Many homes will no doubt
receive pels as Christmas
gifts, and in view of this fact,
we would like to offer a few
suggestions for their care,
feeding and treatment, so
that they will be able lo adapt
themselves into their new sur
roundings and become a
pleasure to own.
1. Immediately upon ac
quiring a pet, have your vet
erinarian make a physical
check-up of the animal to de
termine Its health and dis
cover any symptoms of dis
ease. 2. A very young puppy
should not be given to a child
less than six years old. with
out complete supervision of
older members of the family
Puppies should not be con
stantly fondled or held and
should be given frequent rest
periods.
3. Proper diet is essential
for the health and well being
of the animal. Puppies need
to be fed four times a day
until they are six months old,
then twice a day until they
are a year old, then once a
day. Table scraps alone do not
constitute a balanced diet
The proper feeding and care
of the first few months may
well determine the life span
of a pet.
4. A warm, dry place to
sleep is most important, espe
cially for puppies. A tempor
ary bed can be made from
even a cardboard box with an
opening cut just large enough
for the animal to enter and
placed in a position to avoid
drafts. Cedar shavings are ex
cellent for bedding, helping to
discourage fleas and other
parasites.
S. Disease prevention shots
and worming are important to
the health of your pet, not
only for its own well being
but because of its close associ
ation with members of the hu
man family will ensure a re-
Menace
SWTAOAUS HM&IP
ueNNlSJ"
represent the views of the
often the case.
lationship without fear of
disease. Be sure to consult
your veterinarian about any
matters relating lo the health
of the pet.
6. Keep your pet clean with
daily brushing and occasional
ly bathing, however, do not
over-bathe. A small puppy
should not be bathed in water
at all until about three
months old. After a bath, be
sure to dry thoroughly in a
warm room. Choose the right
type of brush to fil the ani
mals hair and skin.
Brochures are available re
lating to a variety of animal
questions and we welcome in
quiries from anyone with a
special problem concerning
nimal welfare and anyone is
invited to visit our facilities
at 2902 Table Rock road,
Medford, or call NOrmandy
4-2406 for advice or informa
tion.
One last reminder, during
winter weather our songbirds
often have difficulty finding
food so a little grain or .even
bread crumbs placed., out for
them will be a Dineip.
William O. Herring,
Humane Officer,
Southern Oregon
Humane Society
Medford.
Venezuela Back to Normal
To the Editor: The Consul
of Venezuela' in the city of
Portland, takes this opportu
nity to ca'U on the organiza
tion which you represent, on
the occasion of sending en
closed statement In relation
to the late incidents which oc
curred in Venezuela.
It would be very much ap
preciated if the enclosed offi
cial statement could be pub
lished in your important
newspaper.
I think you in advance tor
the courtesy you may give to
this communication.
Gustavo La Ice
Consulado de Venezuela
Portland, Ore.
Communication fro m the
Venezuelan Consulate in Port
land: The rebellious attempt en
couraged by extremist ele
ments in Caracas, Venezuela,
with participants of high
school and university stu
dents that for several days
maintained In state of anxiety
the capital ot the country,
Caracas, is now completely
under control.
The government has sup.
pressed the last focus of re
sistance at University city.
The rebellious attempt, by stu
dents and vagabonds orlginat
ed rioting in different sectors
of the city of Caracas, which
brought as consequence the
burning of vehicles and loot
ing some business. The rioters
made of University city a fort
for their rebellious attempts,
The country is back to nor
mal. The Industrial workers
in Caracas, Maracalbo and Va
lencia as well as the oil field
workers and farmers, far
from answering the call of
the extremists, pledged their
support to the authorities
with the firm purpose of de
fending t h e constitutional
government. A scheduled
bank's strike did not mate
rialize, only a small branch of
a bank closed for two hours.
The police and Venezuelan
arms forces actions have been
carried out without excess or
violence. The circulation of
the extreme leftists newspa
pers which systematically en
courage rebellious attempts
has been prohibited, some
buildings have been seized for
the purpose of confiscating
arms and subversive propa
ganda materials.
The situation is normal in
the Republic.
Primitive
Still Important in
Southeast
By PHIL NEWSOM ,
UPI Foreign News Analyst
As a piece of real estate,
Laos has no railroad, scarcely
more than footpaths for roads
and a few
grassy strips
that pass as
air fields. Its
wild moun
tains work
against large
scale military
m a n e u v ers
either for or
Newsoro vasion.
Its people have no great
political consciousness such
as in, say West Berlin.
Yet in Southeast Asia, Laos
has a morale value approach
ing the equal of Berlin or
South Korea in the battle to
contain Communist aggres
sion. SEATO Reaction
And how the Southeast
Asia Treaty Organization, of
which the United States is a
charter member, reacts to the
attempted Red take-over of
Laos could well have just as
much effect on Asians as
would be the effect on Eu
ropeans in a similar situation
against Berlin.
This is an effect well recog
nized In Washington and other
SEATO capitols, most ' of
which already have declared
their willingness to act either
on a call for help from the
Laotian government or in case
Today and
Tomorrow
By Walter Llppmann
THE CABINET COMPLETED
With the Cabinet complet
ed, the most debatable choice
is that of Robert Kennedy. In
many ways,
however, the
most signifi
cant is Doug
las Dillon.
It has been
said by the
"New York
times" that
Mr. Robert
Llppmann Kennedy
would "certainly not be
named for attorney general
lfh'e were not the President's
brotherl1 In ..my view, the
fact .that. he is the brother
canjiot have been the deelsive
reason. Moreover, it is n o t
really Important. Robert Ken
nedy could not have been
named just because he Is the
brother. In the main he was
named because he had been
the successful manager of the
campaign, v
He has been named to the
Cabinet for the same reason
that Farley was placed in Roo
sevelt's Cabinet, Hannigan in
Truman's, Brownell and Sum-
merfield in Eisenhower's. In
American politics it has long
been the rule, to which I can
not think of an exception,
that the President keeps in
his official family his chief
political organizer.
This is not done merely as
a reward for past services.
It is done to keep at the cen
ter of things the man who
knows best where are the
sources of the President's po
litical power. For while the
presidency rises far above
party politics, it has its roots
deep in party politics, and to
be a successful President a
man must be a successful pol
itician. For these reasons it
would have been unprece
dented if Robert Kennedy had
been excluded from the Cab
inet because he is the Presi
dent's brother.
THE really debatable point
Is that the campaign man
ager has been placed at the
head of the Department of
Justice. The more usual prac
tice has been to make the
chief politician the postmas
ter general. It is certain that
in the sensitive office of at
torney general, which con
trols law enforcement and the
FBI, Robert Kennedy will be
compelled to convince the
country that he is not playing
politics. As attorney general
he will be judged by higher
standards than as PMG.
There Is, however, a nota
ble precedent for his appoint
ment. President Eisenhower
chose Herbert Brownell, who
organized his nomination and
election, as his attorney gen
eral. Among those who have
worked closely with Robert
there is no question of his ex
ceptional competence as an
administrator and as a law en
forcer. There are some who
say that he has a certain ruth
less efficiency, and that he
has not yet acquired a suffi
ciently highly refined and
mellow sense of due process.
We shall see.
rPHE selection of Douglas
Dillon confirms the view,
which some of us expressed
during the campaign, that in
, Iff
m
Laos Is
Asia
of proven outside aggression.
It is recognized by Red
China in its pledge of its
"utmost efforts" to stop "U.S.
imperialism's intervention and
aggression in Laos.
And it also is recognized
among Laos's neutral neigh
bors who are snowing increas
ing nervousness over the pos
sibility that in Laos another
Korea may develop.
In New Delhi, Prime Min
ister Nehru called for re-establishment
of the international
truce commission in Laos and
noted with alarm that both
United States and Communist
arms are pouring into Laos.
Arms Flow Cited
Nehru noted that the flow
of Communist arms to Laotian
Reds was through Communist
North Viet Nam, run by Ho
Chi Mirih.
In 194S, Ho proclaimed the
"Independence11 of Viet Nam
from France and at the same
time received a call for help
from Laotian nationalists led
by Prince Suphanu Vong.
With Ho's help Suphanu
Vong organized the Pathet
Lao (Free Laos), which today
is the Red arm in Laos and
which 'today is making its
most energetic bid to take
over the whole of the nation.
Washington Report
By WILLIAM
THE OLD ENDS
Washington - The old year
is ending in Washington in a
special nostalgia for the de
parting past
and a special
sense of hope
and excite
ment for the
oncoming, fu
ture. For it is not
merely the
last days of
1960 which
whits are now pass
ing. In his twilight space is
passing also an administration,
a whole governmental era.
And a new phase of national
life is close upon the horizon
of time.
It is auld lang syne, of
course, for the Republicans;
it is hail and hurry-up tomor
row for the Democrats. The
Republicans are going out
without sadness or bitterness.
They had a long run of it here
- eight years - and they are
for the most part now ready to
depart.
Already, well before the
inauguration Jan. 20 of John
F. Kennedy as a Democratic
President, their ranks are
shrinking as this or that old
official puts . his resignation
into the mall. They, the Re
publicans, are gathering in the
evening time in small, reflec
tive, sober parties. The guest
lists for these affairs are short
now, where a little while ago
they were quite long.
FOR this town likes a win
ner rather overmuch, and
is a bit quick to say a brusque
farewell to a loser. But the
losers are stolid in the face of
this ancient reality of Wash
ington. Their defeated leader,
Vice - President Richard M.
Nixon, sets the tone for the
quite modified gaiety with
which they are saying good
bye to the power and the
glory.
Mr. Nixon has small groups
to his house for "receptions."
The faithful - salted here and
there by an unpartisan guest
present more as a minor ob
server of history than as a
participant - gather round the
retiring Vice . President and
hash over the late campaign.
Some grow angry. Mr. Nix-
general economic philosophy
there is no serious difference
between Kennedy and such
modern and progressive Re
publicans as Rockefeller.
Mr. Nixon, I think, under
stood this. But President Ei
senhower did not, and when
he intervened in the cam
paign he misrepresented whol
ly the economic philosophy
of Kennedy in regard to the
budget, spending and saving,
gold and the balance of pay
ments. The truth, as was evi
dent to anyone who cared to
seek it, is that Kennedy is
a conservative of the age he
lives in. His views are ad
dressed to the contemporary
scene, not to the dead past
nor an imaginary future.
Mr. Dillon is also a modern
man, as are Governor Rocke
feller, Senator Case,- Sen.
John Sherman Cooper, and
a very large number of Re
publicans. H i s appointment
does not signify that the new
administration means to be
more conservative than It
would like to be. It means
that the Cabinet reflects the
fact that there is a concensus
in the country, which may
work out as a coalition in Con
gress, among the modern and
progressive members of both
parties,
(c) 1960 New York Herald
Tribune Ine
Matter of Fact
WHAT THEY WANT
FROM KENNEDY
Washington - It was both a
disheartening and an oddly
stirring experience to test the
atmospnere on
the other side
of the Atlan
tic after the
American
e 1 e e tion, as
this reporter
has just been
doing.
It was dis,
heartening be-
cause the test
revealed, for the first time,
the full extent of the alarm
ing loss of ground by the
United States in the last eight
years. While officials and pol
iticians in the other capitals
of the Western alliance still
had to count on doing bust,
ness with the Eisenhower ad.
ministration, they did not
speak frankly to vagrant re.
porters. Now they do.
Their verdict on America's
recent leadership of the West,
whether it be just or unjust,
is certainly cruel. The Presl
dent's moral virtues of course
continue to be respected. But
that is about all there is on
the favorable side of the bat
ance sheet, except perhaps in
the case of some British offi
cials who reflect the personal
views of Prime Minister Mac
millan. "A vacuum of leadership
when only America could
lead, is the thing most com
plained about. After this
S. WHITI
on smiles, hunches his slightly
rounded shoulders, and tells
them to relax and "wait for
1964." He no longer looks
weary," though Mrs. Nixon's
face still bears faint traces of
the strain of the recent au
tumn. He is "not mad at any
body." (He is not the first
combat leader to find, after
the battle, that the noncombat
forces are more belligerent
toward the late "enemy" than
those who had stood long in
the firing line.)
THE scene at Democratic
-1- parties could not be more
different. Here all is turned
not toward the recent past or
the distant future but to the
here-and-now and or Immedi'
ate tomorrow. These DemO'
cratlc parties-and it is in the
nature of the Democrat to be
a bit gayer always than the
Republican-are full of breath'
less chatter.
' There are more cocktails.
And sometimes an enthusiastic
partisan will suddenly stand,
without advance notice, and
call upon all present to drink
a toast.
To whom? Well, " to Jack
meaning Mr. Kennedy, or "to
Lyndon," meaning Vice-Presl.
dent-elect Lyndon B. Johnson
Or maybe to some lesser
known Democratic character
whom it seems, at the mo,
ment, most important to hon
or. THERE is an immense
amount of the passing back
and forth of rumors and inside
dope. Nearly everybody has
"an idea" for the new state
department, for the new de
fense department, and even
sometimes - for the new
treasury, though this is a de'
partment from which the
Democrats ordinarily back
away as a slightly dull and
forbidding place.
But here, too, nobody is any
longer "mad at anybody."
President Eisenhower is not
now such a bad fellow, after
all. Even Mr. Nixon draws
some sympathetic comment,
For as the new year - the po
litical new year as well as the
calendar one - now draws
near, there is an extraordi
nary phenomenon at work in
this ordinarily hard, coldly
political town.
Almost, one might say, It is
a touch of Christmas spirit.
(Copyright, I960, by United
Feature Syndicate, Inc.)
ml
Alsep
Try and Stop Mo
; By BENNETT CERF
trpWAS THE NIGHT after Christmas, and a wealthy pay
A chiatrist, father of five children, at exhausted in h'
easy chair. "You might say," he advised his wjft, "that I
am suffering from a se
vere case of Santa Claus
trophobia." Morey Amsterdam telle
about a Scotch couple he
overheard discussing the
coming birthday' of their
young hopefuL "Angus,"
said the mother, "tells me
he'd like either a bicycle or
a tricycle."
"Why don't we wait tin
January," suggested the
father, "and gat him aa
icicle?"
..--
Miss Chou Chon Horn-
toot buttoned a diamond-studied vicuna coat around her miftta
hire poodle and took him for a walk up Bast River Drive one
frigid January afternoon. When she came home, she was !
dlgnsnt. "You won't believe this," Chou Chou told her maid,
"but do you know that 90 of the dogs on thi drWe don't ma
have overcoats ?" '
comes "the difficulty of find
ing anyone In Washington you
could talk to." In the Allied
capitals, in fact, the American
government of these last years)
is thought to have been feeble.
unimaginative, and sadly de
ficient in men of first class
ability with whom great is
sues could be effectively
thrashed out.
rE ONE man President
elect Kennedy has kept
on, Under Secretary of Stat
Douglas Dillon, is the one Ei
senhower policy-maker who
has earned the kind of uni
versal, enthusiastic admira
tion abroad that was given,
in the old days, to such fig
ures as Robert A. Lovett and
John J. McCloy. Secretary of
State Herter and Secretary of
Defense Gates are also ad
mired and respected, though
somewhat less widely; and
there the human credits end.
The debits include a good
many Eisenhower policy-mak
ers who have-simply become
public laughing stocks.
If this estimate of recent
American performance is de
pressing, and perhaps unfair,
It is at least balanced by our
allies' hopes for American per
formance in the time ahead.
These hopes are stirring to
any American with natural
pride. Yet they are, quit
frankly, fairly desperate
hopes. Allied officials and
leaders at all levels are con
vinced that the future of the
Western alliance will be very
dark indeed unless there is a
powerful rebirth of vigor and
intelligence in Washington;
and having this conviction,
they are forced to hope.
Towards President-elect
Kennedy ehimself, there is a
decided attitude of wait-and-see.
The shape of his person
ality, the force of his charac
ter, the tendency Of his poli
cies, ,are alike unknown to
most of the leaders in Bonn
and Paris and even London.
Before anyone hurries to the
rooftops to raise a cheer for
the Kennedy administration,
everyone wants to know what
fne new Administration's po
sitions are going to be on a
whole series of crucial issues.
The basis of our Allies'
hopes Is- not confidence in
Kennedy, in fact, but confi
dence in the United States.
The other nations of the West
by no means accept the sometimes-heard
thesis, that Amer
ica is now "a tired nation."
They do not believe that the
deficiencies (as they saw
them) of the Elsenhower yean
have been anything more than
temporary phenomena. They
are convinced that this coun
try has plenty of stuff in it,
still, to provide the rebirth of
leadership which they long
for so greatly.
THE Intensity of this longing
for more vigorous Ameri
can leadership Of the West is
the measure, in turn, of the
scope of Presldent-eleet Ken
nedy's opportunity. Through
out history, the strongest pow
ers in wide-spreading allianc
es have most often been the
object of jealousy and suspi
cion. Instead of being begged
to lead with vigor and deci
sion, they have usually been
obstructed by the lesser allies
who feared and disliked their
strength. But tn this case, it
is different. All the Western
allies acknowledge that Amer
ica must lead, if anyone is ta
lead; and all acknowledge
that leadership it badly need
ed. . The tangle of critical prob
lems Kennedy will inherit
from Eisenhower is downright
appalling. His leadership will
be particularly hampered by
the long neglected, then hys
terically ventilated problem
of the balance of payments.
Wealth is what gives America
authority, and the balance of
payments problem therefore
tends to undermine American
authority. .
Yet Kennedy has the ball
at his feet, as far as the West
ern alliance goes, if he only
knows how to kick it hard
and fast.
(e) New York Herald
. . . Tribune Inc.
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